Paris climate talks

The governor has increasingly tied California’s run-ins with nature, by way of drought, wildfire and rising seas, to human-caused warming. And he shares global concerns that havoc will ensue worldwide if the issue is put off any longer.

“I get that the majority in Congress, leaders in the House and Senate, half the governors, want to say, ‘No, there’s nothing going on.’ But that doesn’t change the science,” Brown said in an interview with The Chronicle this week. “If a building is burning down, you don’t sit there and get frustrated, you get a fire hose and put it out.”

Brown is scheduled to join leaders from more than 120 nations at the Paris Climate Conference to broker a historic agreement on halting temperature rise. While California has no official role in the negotiations, observers say the state brings proof that governments can initiate effective climate programs, and at the same time, not kill their economies — an example expected to inspire the parties at the bargaining table.

The governor will be accompanied officially by a handful in his administration and unofficially by dozens of state business and political leaders, including former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, hedge fund manager and billionaire Tom Steyer, and representatives of Google and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Their agenda has not been disclosed, but the contingent is certain to highlight California’s ambitious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The state’s resume includes boosting renewable energy to 25 percent of the power supply, putting nearly half the nation’s electric vehicles on the road, and rolling out a sweeping cap and trade program that reins in polluters.

Greenhouse gases, which result from the burning of fossil fuels for industry, energy and transportation, trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to spiking temperatures and weather extremes. The federal government said this month that 2015 probably will be the hottest year on record.

Photo: Chesnot, Getty Images

Employees install a wind turbine in Paris in preparation of the Conference on Climate Change COP21.

Employees install a wind turbine in Paris in preparation of the...

In California, heat-trapping emissions have dropped 7 percent since peaking in 2004, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency.

While nations attending the climate talks have already pledged to contain their greenhouse gas emissions as part of the run-up to the summit, including the United States and China, the commitments have fallen short of what climate experts want. More concessions, they say, are needed to avert disaster.

“California has a big role to play in demonstrating how taking strong action on climate can help grow the economy,” said Derek Walker, associate vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund’s climate program. “That’s the fundamental issue of concern whether you’re a developed country or a developing country: the economy.”

In 2006, when California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act, AB32, set the stage for numerous programs to combat greenhouse gases, critics accused state policymakers of embarking on a reckless economic experiment. California, though, has seen its gross domestic product steadily rise and job growth outpace the national average.

Meanwhile, a clean-technology sector was born, luring $21 billion in venture capital and creating 437,000 new jobs over the past decade, according to the California EPA.

“That’s one of the real reasons that many governments want to talk to us now,” said Matt Rodriquez, the state’s secretary for environmental protection, who is part of Brown’s Paris delegation. “They’ve seen that we established and implemented these programs while the economy is doing very well and growing.”

Tony Earley, CEO of PG&E Corp., the parent company of Pacific Gas and Electric Co., says he’s attending the climate conference to vouch for California’s record at the request of the governor.

“The message he wants to deliver there resonated with me,” Earley said. “By and large, California has developed a very flexible model going forward, put in place programs like cap and trade, set aggressive goals for renewables and recognized that companies need to be able to thrive in this environment.”

Photo: David McNew, Getty Images

California governor Jerry Brown is scheduled to join leaders from more than 120 nations at the Paris Climate Conference.

California governor Jerry Brown is scheduled to join leaders from...

Brown and many of his delegates worry that the summit, which runs Monday through Dec. 11, won’t go far enough to tackle climate change.

A preliminary report by the United Nations suggests that the cuts in emissions pledged in advance will limit warming to 2.7 degrees Celsius, or 4.9 degrees Fahrenheit, by the end of the century. While that’s better than the 4- or 5-degree spike expected without action, it’s below the 2-degree goal.

To pick up where the international community leaves off, Brown has been working with cities and regions around the world, from the Brazilian state of Acre to Vermont, to commit to the 2-degree limit in a memorandum of understanding. The so-called Under 2 MOU has 57 signatories, according to the administration, representing 572 million people.